Page 49 of The Don

My heart drops at the pity in her eyes, but before I can speak, Ryan whispers, “Come. We’ll find out more inside.”

I almost can’t move because what if… You hear stories of crash victims walking from the wreckage only to die of their internal injuries on their way home. What if Matteo was more seriously injured than we thought?

We find the room and the first person I see is Dom, and he stands as soon as we arrive. “He’s in surgery.”

“Why?” I snap and he growls. “Bullet lodged in his shoulder. The doc says it’s routine.”

I exhale my relief because thank fuck it’s not life threatening, and my attention shifts to a woman staring into space as if she’s seen a ghost.

Dom whispers, “Abigail, Matteo’s wife.”

I’m interested in meeting the woman who Matteo used to bring Mario down and I can definitely see why he fell so hard. She’s like an angel as she sits calmly but frozen with shock and her delicate features would have been kryptonite for my brother.

As I drop down in front of her, I say as gently as possible, “He’ll be ok.”

Two green eyes filled with tears, peer at me nervously and she says with a grim determination. “You’re right. Because if he leaves me, I’ll be seriously pissed off.”

She smiles and whispers, “He misses you.”

I nod, knowing exactly what she means. “Me too.”

I stand and note Dom standing hand in hand with Diana’s sister and once again it strikes me how similar they are. That was why he made her an offer she couldn’t refuse to impersonate her sister. We used Flora to return the money Diana stole from our family, and it appears she stole Dom’s heart in the process. It doesn’t surprise me because Flora is Diana without the hard edges. Soft, sweet and so damn pretty it hurts to look at her.

She smiles at me nervously and it only reminds me that there is a gaping hole by my side, and I say roughly, “How long?”

Dom replies, “The doctor said it could take a few hours.”

I watch as he whispers something to Flora and, dropping her hand, heads my way, drawing me to one side and saying huskily, “Go and find your woman, Leo. I’ll call you when we have news. There is nothing you can do for Matteo now but find the bastard who put him here.”

For some reason, his words cause an ache in my heart because we haven’t acted as brothers for a very long time, but I appreciate the connection now. It’s lonely living as mafia in the best of times and if I get my way and become Don Ortega tomorrow, the first thing I will do is repair this family and bring my brothers home.

I whisper, “Thanks, Dom. Make sure I’m told the minute you have news.”

He nods and, as I turn away, he says softly, “Take care, brother.”

Ryan joins me as I storm from the hospital, and I say with a deep sigh. “Unless you have any intelligence to report, the best place we can deal with this shit is back at home because if I’m not mistaken, my wicked stepmother will know a lot more about where Chastity is than we do.”

As we step into the cars, there is only one thing on my mind. Find Diana and make her squeal because that bitch has a lot of explaining to do.

CHAPTER35

CHASTITY

It’s so good to be home and as the truck driver waves goodbye, I head to the iron gates and smile at the astonished soldier on guard duty.

He opens the gates and says in disbelief, “What happened?”

It makes me giggle and to quote the truck driver, I say with a wry smile. “My coach turned into a pumpkin.”

He obviously doesn’t appreciate humor because his eyes narrow and he says roughly, “Does the boss know about this?”

The reference to Leo weakens me and I shake my head. “Perhaps you should tell him I’m home.”

He glances past me as we hear approaching vehicles and says quickly, “Tell him yourself.”

I turn as the car squeals to a stop and watch the door fly open and Leo spills from the car with an urgent haste.

“Chas!” He sounds angry, but I’m guessing it’s loaded with relief and as he reaches me swiftly, I fall into his outstretched arms, the relief so huge, my bravery deserts me in seconds.

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